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The Graduate Seminar, a required course for all International Education majors, exposes students to the rudiments of the academic experience by delving into current themes that affect education. Through this venue, the course will provide a way for students to review the academic skills necessary to successfully navigate Graduate work and research including: a review of strategies in discursive writing patterns, survey in procedures related to critical analysis of reading, summarizing, synthesizing and annotations, and a survey of referencing styles and materials necessary to complete coursework in the program.

This course prepares today’s education leaders to unlock difficult policy problems, develop solutions to address those problems, weigh policy solutions and decide among them, assess policy impact and outcomes, and use assessment as a tool for continued policy improvement. The overall goal is to provide students with both a theory-based framework and pragmatic skills for developing, implementing, and assessing strategies to achieve desired policy change across a broad spectrum of education issues. In an effort to provide authentic and first-hand observations/models, the course welcomes presentations and discussions by key policy makers and stakeholders. 

International educators recognize that to develop knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes in their students, the focus must be on the learner and learning. Curriculum design and development, with these elements in mind, is integral to international education settings. This course focuses on current issues, approaches, strategies and structures used for designing and developing written, taught and assessed curricula in international educational settings, including those which are responsive to learners’ diverse academic needs, cultural values, and linguistic competencies.

This course provides comprehensive knowledge to students in understanding the different aspects of economics and their influences and impact on education and education policy. Economic theories and models as well as Empirical methods, tools and evidences are used to help students analyze and comprehend people’s behavior, movements in the market, educational trends and concerns, and financial issues. This course also helps students understand the importance of education in economic growth emphasizing ideas in investment, returns and accountability. 

This multidisciplinary course focuses on the historical, sociological, and philosophical concepts of international education. It examines the impact of globalization and modernization on different sectors of education, and explores the political and social aspects of these global movements in relation to citizenship, cultural values and diversity, and international mindedness. It also deals with the internal and external factors which inform and shape educational projects undertaken by international development organizations such as the UN Development Program, World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and others.

This course introduces students to settings as well as types and structures of international education agencies and schools. The course further helps students to become acquainted with various educational systems and international curricula within the context of emphasizing professional development and leadership. In developing future educational leaders, this course hinges on the importance of policies in school and education settings, professional development, and human resource management in establishing a strong and positive organizational climate and culture.

This course examines the developments that impact and influence education policies and practices in developing countries. It will help students to reflect on certain ideas and particular phenomena that shape globalization and impact education. Students will develop knowledge and skills to monitor and assess certain issues and influences that may affect international education
and/or schools. Potential policy alternatives or solutions will be discussed and evaluated through the
lenses of complexity, resource allocation, and leadership.

This course is designed to expose students to a fundamental framework of research design and methods in the social sciences. Students will explore the comparative facets of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches within the vein of three philosophical assumptions and worldviews. Students will develop their knowledge and understanding in education research by focusing on how one conceptualizes a problem, uses theory to structure research questions, designs a method to examine the problem and answers the questions of interest, and identifies research approach. In addition to exams and other course assignments, students will begin the design of their thesis idea paper and participate in a mock defense of a thesis proposal. 

International education and professional institutions have a responsibility to ensure that their environments (in policy, structure, and climate) reflect and cultivate the ever-evolving scope of our global society and the extent to which factors such as race, equity and access inhibit or promote inclusive environments. This course will survey various aspects of diversity within the context of multicultural and pluralistic education environments with the concept of culture and the microcultures of class, ethnicity, race, gender, exceptionality, religion, language and age as a basis for understanding. The course will explore how diversity in teaching and learning and other work in educational environments involves not only the differences that individuals bring but also the interaction and ways in which individuals in society respond to those differences in various contexts based on aspects of cross-cultural human development. Students will examine the challenges related to diversity and explore ways in which it can be a potential asset in creating rich and productive professional environments while applying their knowledge to frame, analyze, and generate solutions to problems within professional education institutions.

The course offers students an in-depth grasp of issues, influences, and factors affecting international school administration and organization as well as builds and develops professional
skills in sensible decision making, effective organizational communication, and global leadership. This course provides a thorough understanding of theories and principles in global management and organization and analysis of the internal and external forces that shape organizational and human behavior. The course exposes students to current situations in international school management and organization through school visitation and various case studies which will help them gain practical insights into the complexities of modern organizations.